Indonesian police are planning a show of force in the capital Jakarta to contain a much-hyped protest by Muslim hardliners against the city's popular governor that threatens to ignite religious and racial flashpoints.
An accusation of blasphemy against the Jakarta governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, an ethnic Chinese and minority Christian who is an ally of the country's president, has galvanised his political opponents in the Muslim-majority nation of 250 million.
National Police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar says 16,000 police will be deployed along with 2,000 soldiers and 2,000 of Jakarta's public order officers for the protest.
General Gatot Nurmantyo, chief of Indonesia's powerful military, has said it "will be in the front-line against any movement aimed at disrupting the unity and integrity of the nation."
Indonesians are already fighting on social media over the blasphemy claim and the protest, which organisers optimistically boast will attract half a million people to Jakarta's traffic clogged streets.
Police have said it might draw up to 100,000 people based on communications with Muslim groups involved in its planning.
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